


The Worlds Ends(Begins) With You

by nobetterpicture



Series: SASO 2015 Bonus Round Fills [1]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Challenge: Sports Anime Shipping Olympics | SASO 2015, Dead-but-not-really AU, M/M, twewy au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-02
Updated: 2015-07-02
Packaged: 2018-04-07 07:39:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4254945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nobetterpicture/pseuds/nobetterpicture
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Originally written for SASO 2015 Shipping Olympics Bonus Round 2 for the prompt IwaOi "The World Ends With You AU (what if their entry fees were their memories of each other...)" :)</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Worlds Ends(Begins) With You

**Author's Note:**

> For something that was supposed to be a quick fill...this turned into quite a long thing. It was my first time writing both Iwaizumi and Oikawa, so I was mainly nervous that they made sense as characters stuck in the TWEWY world.
> 
> Also edited and cleaned up from the original post! But the sappy, cheesy ending still remains :)

**DAY ONE**  
  
The moment that Iwaizumi wakes up, he knows that something’s wrong.  
  
He blinks slowly, taking in the asphalt that his face had just been kissing. This isn’t...A sharp pain in his head makes itself known as he tries to remember the last place he’d been. It’s bad enough to make him fall back down onto the street.  
  
When he’s conscious enough to sit up again, Iwaizumi’s able to take in his surroundings a little more clearly. He’s situated right in the middle of a huge crosswalk, surrounded by giant billboards advertising different brands. It seems very familiar, for some reason, but he can’t figure out just quite why. One screen shows a strange symbol, some kind of skull, and the sight of it makes him want to cringe for some reason.  
  
He _does_ actually cringe when some guy walks over him.  
  
“Oy! What the hell?”  
  
Driven by his current confusion and the fact that he was just walked over, Iwaizumi follows the man and reaches out to grab him-  
  
-only for his hand to go right through his body. And thanks to his momentum, he finds himself back on the ground where he started.  
  
“What...What just happened?”  
  
He scrambles up and turns to the closest person.  
  
“Excuse me!” No response. “Hello?” Nothing. “HEY. LOOK HERE.” Not a single person turns.  
  
Standing in the middle of the intersection, Iwaizumi balls up his fists and takes a deep breath.  
  
“WHAT IS GOING ON!?!?!”  
  
No one’s disturbed by his outburst. They all continue to go about their own business, crossing the street, chatting with their friends, pointing to the curious skull on the screen. It makes Iwaizumi want to tear out his hair.  
  
Instead, he remains standing in the middle of the street, hands over his ears and eyes shut.  
If he can’t touch anyone, then he probably can’t be hit by anything either, right? Either way, maybe if he just stays here, he’ll be awaken from...whatever this weird dream is.  
  
Because it is a dream...right? Right. It has to be.  
  
“Hey!”  
  
Oh, now he’s hearing things. This dream is really something.  
  
“Hey, you!”  
  
At least his brain is good enough to think of such a complex world.  
  
“HEY!”  
  
Something hits him in the side of the head and knocks him to the ground...again. Maybe he should just stay here if his subconscious thinks he deserves to be here.  
  
“Seriously, are you a daydreamer or something? I was trying to get your attention!”  
  
The voice is much closer to him and when Iwaizumi opens his eyes, he sees a volleyball on the ground next to him...and a boy picking it up off the ground.  
  
“I really hope I didn’t pick a dud for my partner…” The boy frowns. “Not that I have much of a choice.”  
  
“Partner? What are you talking about?” Iwaizumi asks, staring at the boy’s volleyball as he spins it on his finger. He suddenly has an urge to smack the ball out of the boy’s hand, but he’s not quite sure why. That would be rude.  
  
“Yeah, partner. For the game? That’s what we’re all here in the Underground for.”  
  
“The...Game?”  
  
The boy stops spinning his volleyball. “I picked a real dud, didn’t I.” He sighs and reaches for Iwaizumi right hand. “Look. The timer proves you’re a player. And to play, you need to make a pact with a partner.”  
  
More than confused, Iwaizumi looks at his hand, eyes widening at the red numbers counting down. Fifty seven minutes and thirty seconds…twenty-nine...twenty-eight...twenty-seven.

  
“What….what the f-”

“Listen, we don’t have time.” The boy pulls him off the ground. “You can call me Oikawa. I don’t know why, but the moment I saw you- Well, you’re the only one around here anyway and I need a partner and you do too. So, let’s work together and ask questions later.”

Iwaizumi regards Oikawa for a minute. This...this still has to be a dream, right?

“This isn’t a dream.” Oikawa says, almost as if he can read his thoughts. “It’s not a dream and if we don’t make a pact in the next minute, the Noise are going to get us and we’re going to be REALLY dead.”

It’s then he notices the boy is shaking a bit. He’s scared. Why is he scared? This is just one of those weird, sort of realistic dreams, so why-

“Look, kid, are you going to make a pack with me or not?” Oikawa stares him straight in the eye, gripping his volleyball tight. The people around them still haven’t noticed them at all. They just so happen to walk around them, oblivious to the fact that two boys are standing in the middle of the huge crosswalk.

“I need to know whether I’m going to die in the middle of Tokyo or not.”

Die...It’s the second time that Oikawa has mentioned death and dream or not, it makes Iwaizumi nervous.

“Fine. Fine! I’ll agree to your stupid pact. What do I have to do?”

“Finally! Just say ‘I accept’ after I say ‘Forge a pact with me?’”

“What’s with the showy words?” The stare that Oikawa gives him makes him roll his eyes. “Fine. I’ll say it.”

“Forge a pact with me?”

“I accept.”

The moment the words leave his mouth, a bright light surrounds them both. It warms Iwaizumi from inside out and when it disappears, he finds a strange pin in his hand. Surprisingly, it has the same skull symbol as the advertisement he saw before.

“See, I knew you would be a good player.” Oikawa grabs his hand and pulls Iwaizumi out of the crosswalk. Finally. “Come on, we have a mission to complete before the timers on our hands run out. I’ll explain on the way.”

-

“So...what you’re saying is...we’re dead!?!” This is not the kind of dream that Iwaizumi expected.

“Well...we’re not dead...yet.” Oikawa passes him the cup of instant ramen that they stopped to get after an encounter with some Noise. Thankfully, they aren’t the only ones stuck in this weird alternate universe (UG, or The Underground, as Oikawa said) and the shop’s owner could see and sell them some food.

Though, never in his life has Iwaizumi ever thought that he’d fight some mutant frogs and pigs with…psychic _pins_. He’s almost jealous of Oikawa’s volleyball because at least his weapon looks cool when he spikes it in a Noise’s face.

“See...the point of the game is to survive one week of the the Game Master’s tests. Those tests are run by the Reapers. The tests are the missions. The Reaper’s...well, they’re like the bosses of the game. And the Game Master is the final boss. They don’t want us to win. If we win, we get to keep our lives...and whatever else was our entrance fee.” He takes the cup back from Iwaizumi and slurps at the soup.

“Entrance fee? Reapers? This...this sounds like some over complicated video game.” And Iwaizumi doesn’t really like video games.

“Well..it is a game, so I guess you can think of it as virtual reality. But...I think that we can win. We’ve passed the first mission already. Only six more days to go. Six more missions.”

Iwaizumi nods, not really accepting the fact he’s stuck in this weird game and world. To take his mind off it, he looks over at Oikawa. He’s not shaking like when they first met a few hours ago. Now, there’s determination in the line of his shoulders and the tilt of his chin. And for whatever reason, everything in his mind seems to scream confidence and trust about Oikawa. So he makes a decision.

“You seem to know a lot about this game, Oikawa.” Reaching over, Iwaizumi pats his shoulder. It feels so natural. “Seeing as you’re my partner and the only person I know here- I’ll trust you. I believe that with your knowledge, we can win.”

“I- T-thanks. I’m glad that you believe in me. So quickly too...” Oikawa smiles. “Not that you have any reason _not_ too believe me but- thanks. Really.” He throws an arm around Iwaizumi shoulders, continuing on about the game, but everything fades out.

*

Warm. Safe. Happy.

_Iwa-chan! Hey, Iwa-chan!_

Smiles. Punches. Laughter.

_Iwa-chan, catch!_

_Hey, Iwa-chan, we’re going to win this. With us together, we’re an unbeatable team!_

Gentle fingers. Tears. Yelling.

_Iwa-chan...there’s some-_

 

**DAY TWO**

“-Zumi. Hey- Iwaizumi!”

Iwaizumi jolts awake, accidentally slamming his head right into Oikawa’s.

“OUCH- IWA-CHAN, WHAT THE HELL.”

“So-sorry you surprised-” Iwaizumi stops. “What did you just call me?”

Oikawa’s still busy rubbing his forehead.

“Oy. Oikawa!”

“Relax! You nearly knocked me out and you’re worried about a damn name.” He sighs, trying to cover what might be a bump with his bangs. “I called you Iwa-chan, is that a problem? I figured if we’re going to be partners, we might as well get familiar with each other, even though you didn’t tell me your full name.”

There’s something hazy at the edge of his mind, but he doesn’t hesitate in giving his name.

“Hajime. Iwaizumi Hajime.”

“Hmmmm. I’ll stick with Iwa-chan.”

Their conversation is interrupted by Oikawa’s cellphone ringing.

“That must be today’s mission.”

They look at the mission together. **Reach the other side of Shibuya. You have five hours. Good luck.** , Oikawa reads aloud.

As soon as he finishes the message, both of them recoil as the timer is burned into their hands.

“DAMN that hurts.” Iwaizumi shakes his hand, hoping to lessen the pain. “How didn’t I feel that yesterday, dammit.”

Oikawa laughs through the pain, acting like he didn’t have tears in his eyes too. “I did hit you pretty hard with my volleyball. That might have done something about it.”

“Tch. Thanks, Shittykawa.” The nickname pops into his head without much thought and the shocked look on Oikawa’s face makes it worth it.

“What did you- That is not a nice nickname!!”

“I dunno, Shittykawa has quite the ring to it~”

Oikawa opens and closes his mouth, squeezing his volleyball in a way to express...whatever frustration he was feeling.

“We don’t have time for this! We have a mission.” He turns on his heel and marches away, definitely not annoyed for the rest of the day by the lasting smirk on Iwaizumi face.

-

“Is it me...or was that last Noise really strong?”

“It wasn’t just you. I thought my volleyball was going to pop.”

“I guess we’re going to have to be more careful.”

“Mmm.”

They’re back at the same convenience store, this time sharing a soda and some chips. Some stupid Noise amushed them earlier in the day, stealing most of their money before running away.

Noise, the perfect name for the damn nusiances they are.

The memory makes Iwaizumi pull out his pins. They are still weird to use, especially in fights. To think that he had some weird powers like some manga hero...well. This whole game and world is just like a strange video game so it isn’t that farfetched to think about. He pockets the pins again and steals a few more chips.

“Pass the pepsi, Shittykawa?”

“...Tooru.”

“Huh?” Iwaizumi looks over, but Oikawa isn’t looking at him. He’s only holding out the soda.

“My name. It’s Tooru. Oikawa Tooru. Not...Not _Shittykawa_.”

“Oh.”

“I...someone, a friend? I- I can’t remember.” Oikawa shakes his head. Iwaizumi has no idea what he’s talking about.

“Someone used to call me that. _Shittykawa_. I...I think I hated it? I’m not sure. It’s all fuzzy in my head and it hurts to think about.”

Iwaizumi nods. After All...he feels the same way every time he hears Oikawa call him Iwa-chan.

“Look, Oikawa-”

He never gets the words out because just like the first day, everything goes black.

*

_Hey, Iwa-chan!_

A bright smile.

The warmth of a big hug.

_Iwa-chan, I couldn’t have won without you._

The sight of hands curling into fists.

The back..the back of someone-

_Hey...Iwa-chan...there’s something I have to-_

 

**DAY THREE**

Today, Iwaizumi comes to first.

Curled in his fist is a new pin. It looks like his player pin, but the skull is red.

It makes him scared...for whatever reason.

He finds Oikawa not too far from him, with the same pin.

“What do you think it means?” He asks, comparing it to his black and white player pin.

“I don’t know...Maybe we need it for today?”

The moment that Oikawa says that, his phone rings with the day’s mission. Unlike yesterday, Oikawa doesn’t read the mission aloud.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Iwaizumi looks over Oikawa’s shoulder to see the mission.

**Use your new pin and defeat Reaper Maki. You have four hours. Good Luck.**

They wince through the pain of the timer together. It’s the same pain, but expecting it helps it hurt a little less.

“A reaper...Didn’t you say that they were like the bosses of the game?” Iwaizumi asks, shaking out his hand again.

“Y-yeah. I did.” Oikawa bites his lip. “A reaper on day three...Think we can do it, Iwa-chan?”

The fear that Iwaizumi saw on day one has returned. It’s not a good look on Oikawa. It doesn’t fit the confident image and air that Oikawa’s built around him the past couple days.

“Cheer up, Shittykawa. We’ll be fine. You have me, you know?” He takes the initiative for once and grabs Oikawa’s hand. “Besides, they must have given us the pins for a reason, right?”

Oikawa stumbles behind him, staring at their hands when Iwaizumi looks back at him.

“Head up, yeah? I can’t have my partner looking at the ground when the end of this game is in front of him.”

-

The new pins are a trick.

They don’t work at all...for them. Instead, they make the Reaper, Hanamaki, not “Maki” as the message said, much stronger. It’s a hard fight, but eventually they have him on the ground in defeat.

Iwaizumi’s holding him down with the powers from his kinesis pin, waiting for Oikawa to land the final blow. Too bad that his powers don’t stop the Reaper from talking and stalling.

“What, don’t you want to know what your entry fee was? It’s obvious to me that you… _both_ of you have no idea.” The reaper smiles cruelly. “This game is more a game of fate than I thought and you two are proof.”

Oikawa holds his volleyball high above his head, the swirl of blue fire getting bigger the more the Reaper talks.

“I thought that my time in the game with Mattsun was bad but, ha- We were nothing compared to you tw-”

The volleyball slams into the Reaper’s face and his body disappears.

A quick glance to his hand shows Iwaizumi that the clock is gone. Their mission is complete.

“So…” He picks up Oikawa’s volleyball, expecting it to be warm from the fire, but it’s shockingly cold. “Do you want to get some ramen? My treat?” He offers, holding out the volleyball as well.

Oikawa still hasn’t moved from the spot where he ended the Reaper.

“Hey, Iwa-chan.”

“Yeah?”

“What was your entry fee?”

“My entry fee?” He spins the volleyball in his hands. “I...don’t know. I still have no idea how or why I’m here, Oikawa. So how would I know my entry fee?”

Oikawa stops the spinning with one hand.

“Then...you do know.” He pulls the volleyball away.

“It’s your memories. They took mine too.”

*

_Hey, Iwa-chan. Can you see me?_

There’s a pair of hands covering his eyes, but he can make out a bright smile, a flip of hair.

_Iwa-chan, don’t cheat! It’ll ruin your surprise!_

Laughter. His own laughter.

The hands...they’re his own too. If he could just shift his fingers a little bit-

_Iwaaaa-chan~ If you peek, then I won’t give it to you._

His fingers close, blocking out all of the light.

_Good boy, Iwa-chan~_

A growl, his own, that turns into laughter as he drops his hands and sees

And sees

_Iwa-chan._

_Hey, Iwa-chan...there’s something I have to tell you. I-_   


 

  
**DAY FOUR**

Day four goes by faster than any other day.

Oikawa barely talks to him. They receive their mission and the timer barely hurts.

They’re told to hunt down a special kind of Noise. The timer says they have three hours to do it, but with the help of another set of partners, they finish it in one.

Hinata, one of the boys they met, suggests they take the day to explore the world they’re stuck in before the Reapers end the day.

“It’s not like we’ve had a lot of extra time before...This is a great opportunity!! We can learn more about the Reapers!” He says, practically vibrating with energy. His partner, a boy named Kageyama, looks tired just staring at him.

Iwaizumi’s all ready to go with them, but one look at Oikawa and he’s sending them away.

“We appreciate the offer but we’re gonna take this time to rest. How about we exchange numbers? You can call us if you find anything or we can team up tomorrow too.”

They agree to meet up tomorrow and part ways. Oikawa’s still out of it by the time they make it to tiny convenience store. They start eating a small meal of onigiri and iced tea before Iwaizumi loses it.

“Alright, Oikawa, look. I don’t know what memories you lost. I don’t know that but...even if you can’t remember them, it’s not your fault. It’s this stupid game’s fault. So stop moping.”

Oikawa says nothing in response.

“Fine. Mope if you want. You don’t see me doing the same thing.” He takes a huge bite of his onigiri. “At least you know the rules of this damn game. It’s like you’ve played it before.”

“I-What?! What-No!!” Oikawa jumps, sending his bottle of iced tea everywhere. “What makes you think- No! I haven’t played this game before, you’re a liar! A liar!”

“I was just kidding, Oikawa, calm down…”

“A LIAR. IWA-CHAN YOU’RE A LIAR- YOU’RE LYING.”

Oikawa curls up on himself, seemingly spiraling into something bad. Iwaizumi reaches out to touch him, comfort him in some way, but he’s pushed away.

“Don’t touch me! Just leave me alone! Go away!”

“Oikawa, seriously, it was a joke!”

“LEAVE ME ALONE.”

Between the moping and yelling, Iwaizumi’s had enough.

“FINE. If you want to act like a damn child, then fine. I’ll leave.”

But of course, as he turns to leave, the Reapers decide to end the game and he falls into darkness.

*

_Hey, Iwa-chan...Meet me at the train station?_

The sounds of trains go by.

The rush of wind.

_Iwa-chan._

Clenched fists.

A face too far away to see.

_Hey, Iwa-chan._

There's a mouth moving, but no sound comes out.

The screeching of breaks.

Pain.

Too much pain.

_Hey Iwa-chan, there’s something I have to tell you. I lo-_

 

**DAY FIVE**

When Iwaizumi comes to on day five, he sitting next to Kageyama.

“You’re not Oikawa.” He says simply.

“And you’re not Hinata…” Kageyama replies.

The ring of Kageyama’s phone surprises them both.

“It says ‘Find your partner...if you can. You have three hours. Good Luck.’ Hm.” Kageyama pauses as the timer burns into their hands. “This is an odd mission. Think we can fight the Noise together? Even though we don’t have a pact?”

Iwaizumi shrugs. Even after four days in this world, he barely knew much of anything.

“Guess we’ll have to find out.”

-

Turns out, they _can_ still fight, but it’s weird.

Iwaizumi finds himself distracted by the small deck of cards Kageyama uses as his weapons, throwing the cards faster than any magician or casino dealer ever could. Plus, as they walk around searching, Kageyama keeps the king of hearts in his hand, flipping it easily through his fingers.

It reminds him of the way Oikawa spun his volleyball on his index finger and finds himself missing the sight.

He’s tempted to ask Kageyama about the card, but the other beats him to it.

“They’re my old team.”

“What?” Iwaizumi looks up from the old paper map he’d found on the street. They’ve been walking for over an hour, up and down all the side streets, with absolutely nothing to show for it. If only Oikawa would answer his phone, they would have finished the mission already.

“The cards. I’ve been watching you stare at them. They’re my old volleyball team. I...was a setter, a really good setter.” Kageyama flips the king of hearts over his knuckles. “Well, I was more like a dictator, really. But I never noticed until it was too late and they stopped hitting my tosses.”

He laughs, but the bitterness of the laughter only makes Iwaizumi frown.

“That sounds like a shitty team. If they had a problem, they should have talked it out with you.”

But Kageyama shakes his head.

“They tried, but I wouldn’t listen. I ended up quitting the team because no one would hit my tosses. Our coach had no other choice but to switch me with our back-up setter and if I wasn’t going to play, then I wasn’t going to stay on the team.”

Carefully, he slips the king of hearts back into the deck- only to fan out all the cards and face them toward Iwaizumi. It’s then that he can see the different faces printed on the cards, too realistic for any normal deck of playing cards.

“Turns out that my entry fee to the Underground was them. The whole damn team. I’m not sure why but...I guess maybe I’m not quite done with volleyball yet.” Kageyama folds the cards up and slides them in his pocket. “That’s what Hinata says, anyhow.”

“I see.”

They search the whole southern section of Shibuya, but neither of their partners are there. With two hours gone by, they quickly make their way to the northern part, hoping that their game isn’t ending today.

As they’re making their way to the crosswalk where he first met Oikawa, Iwaizumi feels the need to share his own entry fee. The curious, anticipating looks Kageyama’s been sending him since he told his story are sort of endearing...but also annoying.

“My memories.”

Kageyama stops in the middle of the crosswalk and looks back

“Huh?”

“My entry fee. They took my memories.” He nudges from behind Kageyama to keep walking. “I have no clue how I got here, why I’m here, or much about this world in general. All I know is that I have to survive these seven days and that the only way to do that is with my partner, Oikawa.”

“Oh. That’s...rough.” There’s pity in Kageyama’s voice and, without much thought, Iwaizumi reach up to pat the taller boy’s head.

“It’s alright. There’s only two days left after this.” And he’s not quite sure what causes the next words to come out of his mouth, but he says them without much thought.

“With Oikawa by my side, there’s no way I can lose.”

-

After erasing a huge group of Noise, Iwaizumi spots a blur of orange run by.

“Is that-”

“Hinata!”

He doesn’t even have a chance to look at Kageyama before he watches the other sprint after his partner. They disappear around the corner and Iwaizumi’s left alone in the middle of the empty alleyway they’d been walking through.

**24:32...24:31...24:30** his own clock continues to countdown and he kicks a nearby trashcan in anger. He couldn’t blame Kageyama for chasing after his partner. That is the day’s mission after all. But still...a bitter taste on his tongue lingers.

“That’s some anger you’ve got there.”

Iwaizumi spins on his heel, hand jamming into his pocket for his pins. What he sees is clearly another Reaper; the thin, black skeletal wings extremely similar to the ones Hanamaki had on day three clearly giving him away. He grips his fingers around his kinesis pin.

“Who are you?”

“Who am I?” The Reaper smiles, folds his arms. “Why, I’m just Hanamaki’s, well, _ex_ -best friend, Matsukawa. You could say I’m here for a little revenge. You erased my friend.”

“Revenge?? We were just completing our mission!”

The Reaper’s smile drops. “You still erased my friend. I figure that you, too, should feel the same pain.”

“The same pain?” Iwaizumi couldn’t help but think that something seems off. With the clock ticking, he has no time for interruptions. He has to find Oikawa and-

Wait.

There’s no way-

“Figured it out yet, Psychic Boy?” Matsukawa draws, his fingers growing into claws.

“Where’s Oikawa? What have you done with him!?” As much as he wants to attack the smug Reaper, Iwaizumi has to know if his partner is safe. He _had_ to be safe...right?

“He’s fine...for now. But if you want more information, you’ll have to beat me for it.” Matsukawa flexes his claws. “With your partner, you might have had a chance, but I’m sorry to say that your game ends here.”

Iwaizumi jams his thumb into the center of the pin, feeling the power flow through his body.

“We’ll see about that.”

-

By the time he leaves Matsukawa disintegrating into dust, Imaizumi only has four minutes to find Oikawa.

He sprints down the alleyway where the Reaper appeared, panic and adrenaline flowing through his veins. His feet catch and trip over random debri, but he picks himself up just as fast until he finally skids to a stop in front of Oikawa.

“Oikawa!”

The other boy has a bruise on his cheek, but outside of that, everything seems okay. Or at least as okay as a sleeping person can look. Iwaizumi’s so concerned about his partner that he doesn’t even feel the clock disappear from his hand.

Instead, he carefully touches Oikawa’s cheek, lightly dragging his thumb across the bruise. He hasn’t seen his partner all day and the fact that he got hurt angers Iwaizumi so damn much. The purple color didn’t suit his pretty face.

That thought catches him by surprise and he accidentally presses down on the bruise, making Oikawa’s face scrunch up.

“...Cute.” The word slips out and this time, Iwaizumi does pull back from Oikawa. What is wrong with him?

Slowly, Oikawa wakes up, blinking one eye open at a time, then together.

“Iwa-chan? S’ that you?” Oikawa yawns, stretching his arms above his head. It’s still cute, but Iwaizumi keeps it to himself.

“Yeah. Sorry, I’m late.”

*

_Hey, Iwa-chan. Let’s go to Tokyo._

Why Tokyo, he wonders. What’s so special about Tokyo.

_I have something special to show you._

Show? Didn’t he say tell?

_Show...Tell. You’ll know when...Well. You’ll know._

He remembers reaching a ticket booth and-

Embarrassment.

_Sold out? A-ah, I guess I should have bought the tickets early like you said, Iwa-chan. You were right. You’re always right._

This time, for some reason, it didn’t feel good to be right.

The walk back in the silence is louder than the train station.

_Hey, Iwa-chan._

Turning around, there’s a boy in the middle of the cross walk.

The face is still blurred, but the smile...

_This isn’t Tokyo but...there’s something I have to tell you. Something I have to tell you now._

The sound of his heartbeat echoes down the street.

_Iwa-chan. Iwaizumi Hajime._

The image clears to show Oikawa smiling.

_I love you._

Then a car drives right into him.

 

**DAY SIX**

Iwaizumi wakes up to tears on his face. The fleeting...memories? Dreams? Thoughts? disappear immediately from his mind. Except for…Oikawa’s face and-

_I love you._

“Iwa-chan?”

He looks up to see Oikawa crouched in front of him. The bruise from yesterday has almost healed, that makes Iwaizumi feel a little better already. Quickly, he rubs away the tears and wipes his nose on his sleeve.

“Bad dream?” His partner asks, hand stretched out like he wanted to comfort Iwaizumi before he covered his sleeve in snot. “You’ve been crying in your sleep for a while.”

That makes him laugh.

“How can I dream when I don’t have any memories?”

The beep of Oikawa’s phone stops him from asking more questions and Iwaizumi sighs in relief. He isn’t ready to approach whatever his…”dreams” meant.

Today is day six. Tomorrow...Day seven.

They are so close, so close to freedom from this game.

“Be the first to reach the crosswalk. Fail, and you’ll be erased. You have two hours. Good luck.”

Their timer appears and Oikawa bounces his volleyball against the ground.

“Shall we?”

-

The entire area of Shibuya is strangely free of Noise...until they reach the crossing.

Noise are EVERYWHERE.

At least twenty Noise stand between them and their goal, sending Iwaizumi’s hand into his pockets for his pins. Next to him, Oikawa’s volleyball begins to glow and burn.

“This is the most Noise we’ve been up against.” He comments, spinning the ball between his hands.

“After what I faced alone yesterday, this is nothing.” His thumb drags across the fire pin he picked up from Matsukawa’s body and flames cover his arms.

“Trying to show me up, are you, Iwa-chan?”

“Maybe.” He smirks and Oikawa grins back.

_I love you_.

The voice, Oikawa’s voice, echoes in his ear, and the flames leave his arms the moment his concentration breaks.

“See, you’re too dazzled by my smile to even fight. Not that I blame you.” Oikawa sticks out his tongue with a wink and serves his volleyball right into the face of the closest Noise.

“I’ll protect you today, Iwa-chan.”

-

In the end, they work together and reach the crosswalk first...just as Kageyama and Hinata appear behind them.

“No...No!” Kageyama yells and it breaks Iwaizumi’s heart to watch him throw his deck of cards to the ground. Next to him, Hinata hugs a calico cat, tears streaming down his cheeks.

“We- We were so close.”

Iwaizumi takes a step forward, wanting to help, wanting to do something, but Oikawa grabs his hand and pulls him back.

“No. There’s nothing you can do.”

“But it’s not fair!” In front of them, Kageyama and Hinata are starting to disappear just as the Reapers did the days before.

“But it _is_ , Iwa-chan. That’s the game-”

“FUCK THE GAME, PEOPLE’S LIVES ARE AT STAKE!”

Oikawa punches him. It hurts less than the hit he took day one from his partner, but it clears his mind at bit. His partner is furious and grabs him by the neck

“Your life, MY life is at stake too. Do you want to take their place? Would you waste everything we’ve done over the past six days for them? Would you give up both of our lives so that they could live?”

Iwaizumi nearly says yes.

But he’s too much of a coward.

“No. No...I wouldn’t.”

When he turns back to where Kageyama and Hinata were standing, all that’s left is the king of hearts card and a pin with a calico cat.

*

His heart hurts.

_Iwa-chan_

There’s blood everywhere.

_Iwaizumi Hajime._

Oikawa’s not smiling anymore.

_I love you._

It’s not fair. He didn’t get to answer.

_I love you._

It’s NOT fair. He didn’t get to reply-

The car door opens. A different voice calls out.

“If you could save your friend’s life- Would you?”

Yes.

 

The man pulls out a gun, aiming it right at his face.

  
“Well...then let’s play a game.

 

  
**DAY SEVEN**

On day seven, Iwaizumi wakes up next to Oikawa, head pillowed on his shoulder.

He remembers now. He remembers _everything._

Gently, he takes Oikawa’s hand into his own and threads their fingers together.

Together, they’ve made it to the last day. They’ve made it this far. Just one last mission and it’s over.

A squeeze of his hand tells him Oikawa’s awake and when they meet eyes, something’s different. Something changes between them.

“You...you remember,” Oikawa whispers. “You finally remember.”

“I do. I’m sorry.” Iwaizumi pulls him in for a hug. “I’m sorry. I remember. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. It’s not your fault, Iwa-chan. You’re here with me now and that’s what matters. That's all that matters.”

“Did...Did you know?” Iwaizumi asks. It’s something that’s been on his mind since day one. “You knew so much about the game and everything…”

He feels Oikawa sigh against him.

“I did. I...I sort of lied about my entry fee. Originally, it was you. The Game Master came to me right as I died and offered me a chance to play the game...for a price. You were the most important thing in my life, so you were my price.” Oikawa stops for a second to hold him tighter.

“Then you joined the game and my fee...well it got mixed up. I think they took my memories of you, but when I saw you that first day, I had a feeling- I just knew I had to make a pact with you. Everything slowly fell into place after that, even though it was confusing. When you asked if I had played the game before, I didn't know. I knew that I knew things about the game, but without my memories, I couldn't remember why I knew everything and that's why I got so scared and panicked on day four. Then yesterday, I remembered everything. That’s why I wouldn’t let you go to Kageyama or Hinata. I had finally gotten you back and I wasn’t going to let you go. I would say sorry, but I’m really not.”

Iwaizumi lets everything sink in, not quite sure what to say.

They stay like that, wrapped around each other, until Oikawa’s phone beeps with their last mission. It’s simple...or so it seems.

With no time limit, they have to do one thing.

 

Defeat the Game Master.

-

As they approach the huge building in front of the crosswalk, where everything started for them, where the Game Master now waits for them, Oikawa holds Iwaizumi back for a second.

“You know, this is where I wanted to confess you to.” He points to the crosswalk, the star background of so many movies and dramas. It's perfect for a dramatic confession that Oikawa would...should have made. “But since we didn’t get to Tokyo…”

Oikawa shrugs like it’s nothing. Now that they remember everything and are together, that’s all that matters. That's all he's been saying to Iwaizumi since they talked.

On a whim, Iwaizumi walks out, weaving through the people that can’t see them until he’s standing right in the center of everything.

“Would you have stood right about here?!” He yells back to Oikawa, who hasn’t moved.

“Yeah??”

The confusion on Oikawa’s face just makes the idea even better. And, with what might be their real deaths waiting for them, Iwaizumi’s not going to let a chance like this slip through his fingers. He’s not going to repeat the past.

“HEY. SHITTYKAWA!” He screams with everything he has.

“What!?”

“OIKAWA TOORU.”

“WHAT?!”

The baffled and slightly annoyed look on Oikawa’s face makes Iwaizumi almost stop and laugh. But he doesn’t. He pushes right on, taking a deep breath and shouts.

“I LOVE YOU TOO.”

Watching the smile bloom on Oikawa’s face is probably the best thing that Iwaizumi’s ever seen.

He finally does laugh as Oikawa runs over, dropping his volleyball to pull Iwaizumi down for a kiss. It’s amazing and cheesy and despite the dangerous circumstances, it’s _perfect_.

It’s what should have happened when Oikawa confessed to him before all of this.

When they finally part, they're both smiling, but it’s a short lived happiness. They still have a mission to finish. They still have their whole lives to live.

Oikawa picks up his volleyball with one hand and grabs Iwaizumi’s hand with the other.

“Ready?”

Iwaizumi grips his pins with his free hand, and the king of hearts burns in his back pocket.

“Let’s go win this.”


End file.
